GI and Liver Flashcards
how can you differentiate biliary colic from acute cholangitis
In contrast to acute cholecystitis, there is no fever and inflammatory markers are normal in biliary colic
what is charcot’s triad
- it is
- right upper quadrant pain
- fever
- jaundice
- it’s for ascending cholangiti
- it occurs in ~20-50% of people with ascending cholangitis
is pain from duodenal ulcers or gastric ulcers made worse by eating
Duodenal ulcers: more common than gastric ulcers, epigastric pain relieved by eating
Gastric ulcers: epigastric pain worsened by eating
what is rovsing’s sign?
more pain in RIF than LIF when palpating LIF
it indicates appendicitis
when would you get tinkling bowel sounds
if there is intestinal obstruction
how does the pain differ between renal colic and acute pyelonephritis
- renal colic:
- Pain is often severe but intermittent. Patient’s are characteristically restless
- Visible or non-visible haematuria may be present
- acute pyelonephritis:
- Fever, vomiting and rigors
what is the most common causative organism in ascending cholangitis
E. coli
what is reynold’s pentad for ascending cholangitis
- it’s charcot’s triad:
- fever
- RUQ pain
- jaundice
- plus hypotension and confusion
it’s for ascending cholangitis
how do you diagnose ascending cholangitis
ultrasound is generally used first-line in suspected cases to look for bile duct dilation and bile duct stones
bloods will show raised white cells and raised inflammatory markers
what is the management of ascending cholangitis
intravenous antibiotics
endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) after 24-48 hours to relieve any obstruction
clincal features of acute pancreatitis
severe epigastric pain that may radiate through to the back
vomiting is common
examination may reveal epigastric tenderness, ileus and low-grade fever
periumbilical discolouration (Cullen’s sign) and flank discolouration (Grey-Turner’s sign) is described but rare
how do you diagnose pancreatitis
a diagnosis of acute pancreatits can be made without imaging if characteristic pain + amylase/lipase > 3 times normal level
however, early ultrasound imaging is important to assess the aetiology as this may affect management - e.g. patients with gallstones/biliary obstruction
what are the two important blood tests for pancreatitis
- serum amylase
- raised in 75% of patients
- typically > 3 times the upper limit of normal in pancreatitis
- levels do not correlate with disease severity
- specificity about 90%
- serum lipase
- more sensitive and specific than serum amylase
what are the non-pancreatitis causes of raised amylase
pancreatic pseudocyst
mesenteric infarct
perforated viscus
acute cholecystitis
diabetic ketoacidosis
what are some poor prognostic factors in pancreatitis
- age > 55 years
- hypocalcaemia
- hyperglycaemia
- hypoxia
- neutrophilia
- elevated LDH and AST
what are the causes of pancreatitis
- GETSMASHED
- Gallstones
- Ethanol
- Trauma
- Steroids
- Mumps (other viruses include Coxsackie B)
- Autoimmune (e.g. polyarteritis nodosa), Ascaris infection
- Scorpion venom
- Hypertriglyceridaemia, Hyperchylomicronaemia, Hypercalcaemia, Hypothermia
- ERCP
- Drugs (azathioprine, mesalazine*, didanosine, bendroflumethiazide, furosemide, pentamidine, steroids, sodium valproate)
how do you classify the severity of pancreatitis
management of pancreatitis
- fluids
- aggressive early rehydration with crystalloids
- aim for urine output of 0.5ml/kg/hr
- may relieve pain by treating lactic acidosis
- analgesia
- IV opioids
- nutrition
- don’t make them nil by mouth unless they are vomiting
- enteral nutrition should be offered to anyone with moderately severe or severe acute pancreatitis within 72 hours of presentation
- parenteral nutrition only used if enteral fails
- surgery
- if due to gallstones then cholecystectomy
- if obstructed biliary system due to stones then ERCP
- if infected necrosis then either radiological drainage or surgical necrosectomy.
what is the main cause of chronic pancreatitis
- 80% of cases are due to excess alcohol use
- 20% of cases are due to:
- genetic: cystic fibrosis, haemochromatosis
- ductal obstruction: tumours, stones,
clinical features of chronic pancreatitis
- pain is typically worse 15 to 30 minutes following a meal
- steatorrhoea: symptoms of pancreatic insufficiency usually develop between 5 and 25 years after the onset of pain
- diabetes mellitus develops in the majority of patients typically more than 20 years after symptom begin
how do you investigate chronic pancreatitis
- CT shows pancreatic calcification
- faecal elastase detects pancreatic exocrine function
management of chronic pancreatitis
pancreatic enzyme supplementation
analgesia
is there a vaccine for hepatitis C
no
what is the investigation to diagnose hepatitis C
HCV RNA
is hepatitis C acute or chronic
- around 15-45% of patients will clear the virus after an acute infection (depending on their age and underlying health) and hence the majority (55-85%) will develop chronic hepatitis C
what is the definition of chronic hepatitis C
the persistence of HCV RNA in the blood for 6 months.
complications of chronic hepatitis C infection
- cirrhosis
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis
- sjorgen’s syndrome
how do you manage hepatitis C
- daclatasvir + sofosbuvir or sofosbuvir + simeprevir with or without ribavirin
- aim of treatment is sustained virological response (SVR), defined as undetectable serum HCV RNA six months after the end of therapy
what are the side effects of ribavirin
haemolytic anaemia
cough
Women should not become pregnant within 6 months of stopping ribavirin as it is teratogenic
what is hepatitis D and B coinfection
A patient is infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis D at the same time
what is hepatitis B and D superinfection
A hepatitis B surface antigen positive patient subsequently develops a hepatitis D infection
Superinfection is associated with high risk of fulminant hepatitis, chronic hepatitis status and cirrhosis.
what is the treatment for hepatitis B
pegylated interferon-alpha
important things to remember about hep E
- faecal oral route
- incubation period is 3-8 weeks
- common in Central and South-East Asia, North and West Africa, and in Mexico
- causes significant mortality in pregnancy (20%)
- does not cause chronic disease
how long is the incubation period for hepatitis A
2-4 weeks
what are the clinical features of hepatitis A
- flu-like prodrome
- abdominal pain: typically right upper quadrant
- tender hepatomegaly
- jaundice
- cholestatic liver function tests
- faecal-oral spread
- doesn’t cause chronic disease
- benign, self-limiting disease
who should be vaccinated against hepatitis A
- an effective vaccine is available
- after the initial dose a booster dose should be given 6-12 months later
- people travelling to or going to reside in areas of high or intermediate prevalence, if aged > 1 year old
- people with chronic liver disease
- patients with haemophilia
- men who have sex with men
- injecting drug users
how will lfts be deranged in alcoholic liver disease
- cGamma-GT will be raised
- the AST-ALT ration will be >2
- if it’s >3 then this is strongly suggestive of acute alcoholic hepatitis
what can be used to treat alcoholic hepatitis
prednisolone
which weird blood test can show hepatocellular carcinoma
raised AFP can be a useful diagnostic marker of HCC
Who should be screened for hepatocellular carcinoma and how
- Screening with ultrasound (+/- alpha-fetoprotein) should be considered for high risk groups such as:
- patients liver cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis B & C or haemochromatosis
- men with liver cirrhosis secondary to alcohol
a serum-ascites albumin gradient above what level is indicative of portal hypertension
11g/L
what are some causes of a serum-ascites albumin gradient >11g/L
- Liver disorders are the most common cause
- cirrhosis/alcoholic liver disease
- acute liver failure
- liver metastases
- Cardiac
- right heart failure
- constrictive pericarditis
- Other causes
- Budd-Chiari syndrome
- portal vein thrombosis
- veno-occlusive disease
- myxoedema
what is saag
what are some causes of saag <11g/L
- Hypoalbuminaemia
- nephrotic syndrome
- severe malnutrition (e.g. Kwashiorkor)
- Malignancy
- peritoneal carcinomatosis
- Infections
- tuberculous peritonitis
- Other causes
- pancreatitisis
- bowel obstruction
- biliary ascites
- postoperative lymphatic leak
- serositis in connective tissue diseases
management of ascites
- sodium restriction
- if sodium <124 then consider fluid restriction
- spironolactone +/- loop diuretic
- therapeutic paracentesis of tense ascites
- if >5L then give albumin cover to prevent paracentesis induced circulatory dysfunction
- transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) may be considered in some patients
which patients with ascites should get prophylactic antibiotic cover and what should they have
prophylactic oral ciprofloxacin or norfloxacin for people with cirrhosis and ascites with an ascitic protein of 15 g/litre or less, until the ascites has resolved
how do you diagnose spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
- paracentesis
- neutrophil count >250 cells/uL
what is the most common causative organism in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
e.coli
what is the best antibiotic for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
IV cefotaxime
what is the pathophysiology of acute colecystitis
- develops secondary to gallstones in 90% of patients (acute calculous cholecystitis)
- the remaining 10% of cases are referred to as acalculous cholecystitis
- typically seen in hospitalised and severely ill patients
- multifactorial pathophysiology: gallbladder stasis, hypoperfusion, infection
- in immunosuppressed patients it may develop secondary to Cryptosporidium or cytomegalovirus
- associated with high morbidity and mortality rates
what is the first line investigation for acute cholecystitis
- ultrasound is the first-line investigation of choice
- if the diagnosis remains unclear then cholescintigraphy (HIDA scan) may be used
- technetium-labelled HIDA (hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid) is injected IV and taken up selectively by hepatocytes and excreted into bile
- in acute cholecystitis there is cystic duct obstruction (secondary to odema associated with inflammation or an obstructing stone) and hence the gallbladder will not be visualised
what is the treatment for acute cholecystitis
iv antibiotics and early laparoscopic cholecystectomy within 1 week of diagnosis
risk factors for gallstones
- Fat
- Female
- Fertile (pregnancy and COCP)
- Forty
- also
- diabetes
- crohns
- rapid weightloss (i.e. from bariatric surgery)
what is the pain in biliary colic caused by
gallstones passing through the biliary tree
or due to the gallbladder contracting around a stone
features of biliary colic
- colicky right upper quadrant pain
- worse after eating
- may radiate to back, between scapulae
- nausea and vomiting
- LFTs are NORMAL
- unless it’s in the CBD
- NO FEVER
- Inflammatory markers are NORMAL
complications of gallstones
- acute cholecystitis: the most common complication
- ascending cholangitis
- acute pancreatitis
- gallstone ileus
- gallbladder cancer
management of cholangitis
- Fluid resuscitation
- Broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics
- Correct any coagulopathy
- Early ERCP
how do you manage asymptomatic gallstones
- if in gallbladder then manage expectantly since they rarely cause problems
- if in cbd then consider surgical managment
what are the two scores for severity of liver cirrhosis
- Child-Pugh score
- Model for end stage liver disease (MELD)
what are the risks of ERCP
- bleeding
- cholangitis
- perforation
- pancreatitis
What is the model for end stage liver disease
Uses a combination of a patient’s bilirubin, creatinine, and the international normalized ratio (INR) to predict survival. A formula is used to calculate the score.
formula is quite long and boring don’t learn it
how do you diagnose liver cirrhosis
- transient elastography
- brand name ‘Fibroscan’
- uses a 50-MHz wave is passed into the liver from a small transducer on the end of an ultrasound probe
- measures the ‘stiffness’ of the liver which is a proxy for fibrosis
what further investigations should you do for people with liver cirrhosis?
- Upper endoscopy to check for varices in patient’s with a new diagnosis of cirrhosis
- liver ultrasound every 6 months (+/- alpha-feto protein) to check for hepatocellular cancer
what is the child pugh classification
- it’s for staging liver cirrhosis